Mumbai Campus, Centre for Criminology and Justice, School of Social Work - Mumbai Campus
M.A. (TISS), Ph.D. (TISS)
vijay.r[at]tiss[dot]ac[dot]in
Phone: +91-22-25525461
Vijay Raghavan, MA in Social Work with Specialisation in Criminology and Correctional Administration (TISS) and Ph.D. in Social Work (TISS)
Working with the Centre for Criminology and Justice (CCJ), School of Social Work, TISS, since 2005, and currently as a Professor with the Centre
Prior to 2005, Project Director, Prayas: Social Work in Criminal Justice, a field action project of the CCJ, engaging with issues of protection of legal rights and social re-entry of criminal justice clients, with a special focus on women, children and youth. Part of Prayas since 1990, as its first social worker and continues his involvement with it till date, as faculty-in-charge
Involved in training of police, prison and judicial officers both at the state and national level on issues such as gender, human rights, prisoners’ rights, correctional laws, anti-trafficking, and re-entry of crime affected persons
Nominated by TISS in 1995 to participate in the six-week Gender Planning Training Project (GPTP) organized by the Institute of Development Studies, Sussex, U.K. and the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Administration Academy, Mussoorie, as part of the Uttar Pradesh team to develop and implement a Gender Sensitisation Training Module for police officers
Membership in Government Committees and Bodies (Past and Present):
Member, Advisory Committee on Prison Reforms, Bureau of Police Research and Development, Ministry of Home Affairs, GOI (2023)
Member, Committee Chaired by Addl. Chief Secretary, MHA, GOI, to Devise Scheme for Support to Poor Prisoners (2023)
Member, State Inter-Departmental Committee on Prisoners, Maharashtra
Member, State Advisory Committee on Prevention of Immoral Trafficking, Maharashtra
Member, Justice Dharmadhikari Committee on Prevention of Atrocities against Women and Law, Maharashtra (2011-14)
Member, Justice Radhakrishnan Committee on Prison Reforms, Maharashtra (2017-18)
Member, Prison Reforms Committee Appointed by the High Court of Uttarakhand (2021-23)
Member, Core Group on Women, National Human Rights Commission, Delhi
Member, Core Advisory Group on Criminal Justice System Reforms, National Human Rights Commission, Delhi
Member, Monitoring Committee on Developing Prison Training Manuals, Bureau of Police Research and Development, Ministry of Home Affairs, GOI(2021-22) The prison training manuals can be found at https://www.bprd.nic.in/page/prison_training_manual
Member, Advisory Committee for Implementation of Recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on Women in Detention, Bureau of Police Research and Development, Ministry of Home Affairs, GOI (2021)
Member of the Police-TISS Committee set up by the Director General of Police, Maharashtra, on “Need for a Cadre of Trained Social Workers in the Criminal Justice System” (1993)
Membership in Academic Bodies:
Chairperson, Board of Studies, Department of Social Work, SNDT University, Mumbai
Member, Board of Studies, College of Social Work, Nirmala Niketan, Mumbai University
Member, Board of Studies, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Manonmanian Sundarnar University, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu
Member, Board of Studies, School of Social Sciences, Dr. Harisingh Gaur University, Saugar, Madhya Pradesh
Associate Editor, Journal of Human Trafficking
Member, Editorial Board, Howard Journal of Crime and Justice
Senior Scholar Member and Executive Committee Member, Global Association of Human Trafficking Scholars
Receipient of the 'Influential Scholar Award' at the International Human Trafficking and Social Justice Conference 2021
Primary research interests include access to justice and prison reforms, social work practice in criminal justice, human trafficking, youth offender studies, rehabilitation of custodial populations, homelessness and penalisation of poverty, and implementation of correctional laws.
Some recent research projects
Police-Social Work Initiatives to Promote Wellbeing of Children and Families, 2023
A Study on Social Work with Children of Prisoners 2024. Available at: https://tiss.edu/uploads/files/A_Study_on_Social_Work_with_Children_of_Prisoners_2024..pdf
Implementation of Probation of Offenders' Act, 1958: A Mapping Study, 2022 (Co-author, as part of the CCJ Team)
India Justice Report, 2022 (As part of collaborative study by Prayas-TISS, CHRI, Common Cause, CSJ, Vidhi Centre for Law and Policy and DAKSH) - https://indiajusticereport.org/. Available at: www.indiajusticereport.org
Legal Representation for Undertrials in Maharashtra (2018-21), 2023 (Co-author, as part of Prayas-TISS and NLU Delhi Team). Avalable at: https://tiss.edu/uploads/files/Legal_Representation_for_Undertrials_in_Maharashtra__2018-2021_iLWKW58.pdf.
Rapid Needs Assessment Survey of Criminal Justice Affected Persons and their Families, 2021 (As part of Prayas-TISS Team). Available at: https://www.tiss.edu/uploads/files/Rapid_Needs_Assessment_Survey_by_Prayas_2020_00LWBFW.pdf
A Study of Human Trafficking in Vulnerable Districts of India, 2019 (Principal Researcher, as part of TISS Team). Available at: https://humantraffickingsearch.org/resource/human-trafficking-in-vulnerable-districts-of-india-national-report/
Prisoners' Contact with their Families: Procedures, practices and experiences, 2020 (As part of Prayas-TISSTeam). Available at: https://www.tiss.edu/uploads/files/Prisoners_Contact_with_their_Families_-_Final.pdf
Recent publications:
Raghavan, V. (2024). Criminal justice social work: Need of the hour, Indian Journal of Social Work, Special Editorial, Vol. 85, Issue 1 (January, 2024), pp. 5-14. DOI: 10.32444/IJSW.2024.85.1.5-14 (https://journals.tiss.edu/ijsw/index.php/ijsw)
Raghavan, V. (2023). Locating prison officers in the prison reforms discourse: Insights from India, Prison Officers: International Perspectives on Prison Work, (Eds.) Arnold, H., Maycock, M. and Ricciardelli, R., Palgrave Macmillan Cham, pp. 379-406. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-41061-1
Korde, P. and Raghavan, V. (2023). Understanding deviance from the perspectives of youth labelled as children in conflict with law in Mumbai, India, Howard Journal of Crime and Justice, January 10, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1111/hojo.12511
Sinha, R., Nair-Shaikh, R. and Raghavan, V. (2022). Kumarappa, Jagadisan Mohandas, Encyclopedia of Social Work (April 20, 2022), National Association of Social Workers Press and Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.1566
Honawar, M. and Raghavan, V. (2022). Governmentality and Contestationss: Experiences of Women Recidivists in Mumbai, Women, Incarcerated: Narratives from India, (Eds.) Bandyopadhyay, M. and Mehta, R., Hyderabad: Orient Blackswan, pp. 213-234.
Raghavan, V. (2021). Prisons and the COVID-19 pandemic, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 56, Issue 20 (May 15, 2021), p.8.
Brown, M., Jadhav, V.K., Raghavan, V., and Sinha, M. (2021). Imperial legacies and southern penal spaces: A study of hunting nomads in postcolonial India, Punishment and Society, Vol. 23, Issue 5 (November 26, 2021), pp.675-696, DOI: 10.1177/14624745211054393.
Raghavan, V. and Daruwala, M. (2021). The urgent need for reform in India’s prison system, Hindustan Times (September 27, 2021). Accessed from: https://www.hindustantimes.com/opinion/the-urgent-need-for-reform-in-india-s-prison-system-101632740025847.html
Raghavan, V. (2021). Keep the cops away from prisons, Indian Express (March, 6, 2021). Accessed from: https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/uttarakhand-prison-head-appointment-police-officers-7216164/
Tong, V. and Raghavan, V. (2021). Mental health in prisons, a long neglected crisis, The Citizen, Centre for Mental Health and Policy, January 10, 2021. Accessed from: https://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/en/NewsDetail/index/15/19859/Mental-Health-in-Prisons-a-Long-Neglected-Crisis
Tong, V. and Raghavan, V. (2021). The role of gender in the lives of women offenders with mental illness, The Citizen, Centre for Mental Health and Policy, January 28, 2021. Accessed from: https://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/en/NewsDetail/index/15/19935/The-Role-of-Gender-in-the-Lives-of-Women-Offenders-with-Mental-Illness-
Daruwala, M. and Raghavan, V. (2020). Systemic neglect ensures and prisons act as warehouses for the marginalised, Indian Express, December 28, 2021. Accessed from:
https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/bhima-koregaon-case-national-security-laws-political-prisoners-nsa-7122512/
Menezes, S. and Raghavan, V. (2020). Claim making processes in criminal justice social work in India, British Journal of Social Work, Issue 50, (December 3, 2020), pp. 2405-2422. doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcaa198
Dhanuka, M. and Raghavan, V. (2020). Covid-19: Ensure prisons do not turn into a fertile ground for the virus, Hindustan Times, June 6, 2020. Accessed from: https://www.hindustantimes.com/analysis/covid-19-ensure-prisons-do-not-turn-into-a-fertile-ground-for-the-virus/story-MVJdQa0f2GwwyCojTwQA3L.html
Raghavan, V. and Tarique, M. (2020). India’s jails are vastly overcrowded. Here are some ways to protect inmates from Covid-19, Scroll.in, April 8, 2020. Accessed from: https://scroll.in/article/958334/indias-jails-are-vastly-overcrowded-here-are-some-ways-to-protect-inmates-from-covid-19
Raghavan, V. (2020). Prisons and the pandemic: The panoptican plays out, Journal of Social and Economic Development, December 7, 2020. Accessed from https://doi.org/10.1007/s40847-020-00127-9
Konch, P. and Raghavan, V. (2020). Gender issues in policing: Perspectives and perceptions, Indian Police Journal, Vol. 67, No. 3 (July-September 2020), pp. 46-51.
Menezes, S., Shah, K., Raghavan, V. and Tumma, D. (2020). Stigma and marginalisation meet disaster: Women’s stories of distress and agency, Journal of Exclusion Studies, Vol. 10, No. 2 (August 2020), pp. 77-90. Accessed from: DOI: 10.5958/2231-4555.2020.00007.8
Raghavan, V. (2020). Delays in the Criminal Justice Process: Consequences for Undertrial Prisoners and Their Families, Justice Frustrated: The Systemic Impact of Delays in Indian Courts, (Eds.) Vidyasagar, S., Naik, S. and Narsappa, H., New Delhi: Bloomsbury India
Raghavan, V. (2020). Impacts of stereotyping on the criminal justice system. Book Review: Shadows of doubt: Stereotypes, crime and pursuit of justice, by Brenden O’Flaherty and Rajiv Sethi, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2019; ppxi + 372, $27.95. In Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. LV, No 18, May 2, 2020.
Praveen Kumar and Raghavan, V. (2020). A study of liquor ban arrests: Under trial prisoners in Bihar. In Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 55, Issue 7 (Fenruary 15, 2020), pp. 38-41.
Menezes, S. and Raghavan, V. (2019). Criminal justice social work in India: Conceptualising from teaching and practice. In Indigenizing social work practice in India, (Eds.) Popli Ushvinder kaur and Singh, Ashvini Kumar, New Delhi: Bloomsbury India.
Varghese, J., & Raghavan, V. (2019). Restoration of Released Prisoners to Society: Issues, Challenges and Further Ways; Insights from Kerala, India. International Annals of Criminology, 57(1-2), 61-74. doi:10.1017/cri.2020.5
Prison reforms crucial to refining the justice system:
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/prison-reforms-crucial-to-refining-the-justice-system/story-AoeUqa209w9feTovznLkTL.html
Examining prisoners’ rights at election time:
https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/examining-prisoners-rights-at-election-time-5739048/
Mark E. Courtney, Suo Deng, Anjali Dave, Vijay Raghavan, and Bong Joo Lee. (2019). The transition to adulthood for marginalized youth. In Social exclusion in cross-national perspective (Eds.) Robert J. Chaskin, Bong Joo Lee, and Surinder Jaswal, New York: Oxford University Press.
CCJ and ICA. (2018). Handbook on government schemes for prison officers: Towards integration and inclusive governance
Tarique, M. and Raghavan, V. (2018). Penalising poverty: A case of the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959. In Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. LIII, No. 22 (June 2, 2018), pp. 26-30.
Vineetha, S. and Raghavan, V. (2018). Vocational training in Indian prisons. In In Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. LIII, No. 16 (April 21, 2018), pp. 36-41.
Raghavan, V. (2018). The criminal inside us: Violence against women. In The Equator Line 22, Vol. 6, Issue 1 (January-March, 2018), pp. 28-40.
Raghavan, V. (2017). Exploring the underworld: Some methodological challenges. In Knowing the social world: Perspectives and possibilities, Jayaram, N. (Ed.), pp. 191-207, Hyderabad: Orient Blackswan Pvt. Ltd.
Raghavan, V. and Menezes, S. (2017). Prayas. Demonstrating Criminal Justice Social Work. In Indian Journal of Social Work, Vol. 78 (2) (April 2017), pp. 225-254.
Raghavan, V. and Tarique, M. (2017). Koshish. The Homeless and the Destitute Matter. In Indian Journal of Social Work, Vol. 78 (2) (April 2017), pp. 283-308.
Raghavan, V., & Mishra, S. (2017). The influence of social work within the Indian criminal justice system: A crticial overview. In Demystifying criminal justice social work in India, M. D. Chong & A. P. Francis (Eds.), pp.3-32, New Delhi: Sage Publications
Nair, R., & Raghavan, V. (2017). Reviving criminal justice social work through probation in India: Historical solutions to contemporary problems. In Demystifying criminal justice social work in India, M. D. Chong & A. P. Francis (Eds.), pp.127-144, New Delhi: Sage Publications
Bokil, M. And Raghavan, V. (2016). Women and children as victims and offenders: A case of de-notified tribes in India. In Women and children as victims and offenders: Background, prevention, reintegration (Vol.I), Kury, H., Redo, S., and Shea, E. pp. 755-790, Zurich: Springer International Publishing
Raghavan V. (2016). Under trial prisoners: Long wait for justice. In Economic and Political Weekly, Vol LI (4), January 23, pp. 17-19.
Raghavan, V. and Mishra, S. (2015): A situational analysis of minority communities among nomadic and de-notified tribes: A study of Maharashtra, Mumbai: TISS
Raghavan, V. and Mishra, S. (2015). Modernisation of traditional skills among OBCs: Livelihood programmes for nomadic, semi-nomadic and de-notified communities in Maharashtra, Mumbai: TISS
Raghavan, V. (2015). Indian criminal justice system: Voices from field. In Indian Police Journal, Vol. LXII (1), pp. 4-15.
YouTube Links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMzqUuZam_0&t=14s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi46b-sb1o4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMzqUuZam_0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWJsq5IUxz4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcI3mNL792o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFfowr_LLsw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhmEa-tEsqk
Podcasts:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0jkrJhZjmcrvZgnxiFJLUw
https://vidhilegalpolicy.in/podcasts/justify-season-2/india-justice-report-2020-with-maja-daruwala-and-vijay-raghavan/
https://www.cineink.com/podcast/crisis-in-criminal-justice-system-of-india-the-cine-ink-podcast-series-police-adalat-aur-insaaf/
https://syntalk.wordpress.com/episodes/turn-two/tmov/
https://syntalk.wordpress.com/episodes/turn-six/turu/
Association with Field Action Projects:
1. Prayas
http://www.tiss.edu/TopMenuBar/field-action/projects/prayas
2. TANDA
http://www.tiss.edu/TopMenuBar/field-action/projects/towards-advocacy-networking-and-developmental-action-tanda
Courses currently teaching:
1. Social Work Practice with Groups (2 Credits) for MA in Social Work and Bachelor's in Social Work students
2. Criminology: Trends and Perspectives (2 Credits)
3. Contemporary Debates in Criminal Justice (2 Credits)
4. Critical Perspectives on Social Work: Introduction to Social Theories (2 credits)
